


Beau et le Cauchemar Cerf

by BiffElderberry



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8204909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiffElderberry/pseuds/BiffElderberry
Summary: A retelling of Beauty and the Beast done with Hannibal characters.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [displacedsquid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/displacedsquid/gifts).



> I picked up this prompt as a pinch hit because I loved the idea so much, even though I'm not a part of the Hannibal fandom. A big thank you to reeby10 for not only betaing this fic for my horrific comma failures, but also helping with the general fandom knowledge and answering all my "would he do this?" type questions. 
> 
> The title of this fic is french and should mean Beauty and the Nightmare Stag (Though 3 years of high school french were not enough for me to translate it myself, so I had to use google translate. I apologize if I got it wrong.)

Once upon a time in a land far far away, a girl went for a walk in the woods. Now this wouldn't be significant at all normally. This was not the first time Abigail had walked alone through the woods outside the village, nor did she plan for it to be the last. No, this was just supposed to be a normal search for solitude.  However, she did not anticipate the sudden storm clouds rising to a peak and breaking into a torrent.

She ran for cover as fat drops rained down on her. But even the largest of trees offered little protection and she was quickly drenched. The falling rain blurred her vision, leaving her disoriented. She scurried aimlessly, trying to find her way.

Suddenly her steps were no longer on the mossy overgrowth of the forest, but a stone path. She squinted through the rain and saw the ruins of an old castle.

_At least it will offer some protection,_ she thought to herself, running up the path and through the gate.

The courtyard was overgrown. Ivy chewed at the bricks of the castle, eroding away the structure. Thorns covered the path, clawing at her skin - a silent warning to stay away.  Gnarled branches of long dead fruit trees stuck out in every which direction, grabbing at her clothing as she passed.  One of the branches snagged her scarf, ripping it from her throat as she hurried back. She almost turned back to grab it, but a sudden clash of thunder frightened her onto her journey. She would get it once the rain stopped, she reasoned. No one would see her here, no one would gawk at her scars. She raced to the door of the castle, and let herself in.

Inside now, the sounds of the storm seemed distant.  The only noise was the subtle _drip, drip drip,_  of water dripping off her clothing. It was all rather disconcerting as she took in the room. She had half expected the castle to collapse on her when she opened the door. But instead it looked nice, like someone had taken the time for upkeep.

"Hello?" she called, "I was just looking for shelter from the storm."

There was no response. She wandered farther into the room, running her finger over the fine cabinets. She came away with a layer of dust, but the furniture seemed well cared for. Despite the outward appearance of castle, nature had not reclaimed it, though it didn’t appear that anyone lived there.

There was a sudden noise through the doorway on the right. Abigail jumped slightly, lurching away. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.  When no one appeared in the doorway, however, she unfroze. _It must have just been a squirrel_ , she thought, heading towards the door to investigate.

What she saw froze her blood. A fire roared in the fireplace. In front of it, an armchair and side table where positioned, as if someone had been sitting there seconds before. There was a teapot on the side table, and on the ground was a teacup, a pool of liquid surrounding it.

She glanced around, but saw no one. She cautiously walked towards the cup. Maybe the owner of the castle had vacated suddenly years ago and just left the teapot and cup where they were, she reasoned. But that didn't explain the fire, a nasty little voice argued in her head. She touched the pot, hissing as she burned her finger on it. It was definitely fresh. She knelt down to pick up the cup, drawing it daintily out of the spilled tea. It was a fine design, what a pity the rim had chipped in the fall.

A sudden bolt of lightning started her and she glanced at the window. It was then that she saw it, illuminated in the half-second flash. A creature taller than any man she had ever seen, its fur was pitch black and its legs curved like that of a deer. Feathers dusted its shoulder; she could hardly tell where they ended and its clothes began.  On its  head was the most magnificent rack of antlers she had ever seen.

Abigail ran.

She ran through the doorway and out into the courtyard. She dashed blindly through the rain, past her scarf and into the woods beyond. She stopped under a tree, panting, the castle barely in sight.

A sob of relief left her throat.  She had escaped whatever it was back in the castle. She hadn’t felt this alive since the death of her parents. She reveled in the feeling. She felt every raindrop that hit her face, and every shiver from breeze across the back of her neck.  

A breeze that moved neither leaf nor blade of grass.

Terror gripped her heart as she turned to look behind her. She came face to face with the stag-man.  A wicked grin spread across the his face revealing his sharp pointed teeth.

Abigail screamed, dropping the teacup.

~***~

Will was worried. After everything that had happened to Abigail he didn't like her going out alone.

People had always considered them weird. Abigail had moved in with Will when she was a teenager. After the death of her parents she had nowhere else to go, so Will had offered her a place in his home. People gossiped of course, but Will was used to people whispering about him as he walked through the village. It didn't bother him.

Abigail, however, had withdrawn. She didn't like dealing with people and would often go off into the woods by herself. Will had gotten used to it, but he still worried.

He worried even more when it began to rain.

His worry grew to panic when she didn't come home that night.

So the next morning he got up with the sun and went for a walk himself. It was a cheery morning - the birds were singing and the sun was shining. The fresh after-rain smell filled the air. But all Will felt was dread as he ventured farther into the woods, calling for Abigail.  She had never gone out this far as far he he knew.

The deeper he went, the more crowded the foliage became. Soon he could no longer see the sun.  The cheery noise from the birds tapered off, as if they too were afraid to be so far into the woods. He stopped under a tree when he saw something glinting in the filtered light. He scooped up the shattered pieces of porcelain.  

"What are you doing out here?" he wondered to himself.  He tucked the pieces into his bag and continued on.

Soon enough he came to a large abandoned castle. Nature had tried to reclaim it, but it seemed like something was resisting. He shuddered as he looked up at the building. He wanted to turn back and leave this place. Every nerve in his body screamed "run away!" But if Abigail had gotten lost in the storm, it would make sense for her to go to the building and seek its limited shelter. Steeling his nerves, Will pushed open the creaking gate and entered the courtyard.

His determination only grew stronger as he spotted Abigail's scarf hanging from one of the gnarled tree branches.

Will marched through the front door of the castle and paused, glancing around. He had expected the inside to be just as horrifying as the outside, but this was actually rather nice. Sure, it could have used a good dusting, but it didn't look like it was abandoned in the least. Which only made the pit of dread grow even more. If she had sought shelter in this castle and someone lived here... what had they done to her?

He carefully made his way through the castle, keeping a wary eye open for its residents. But he found no one. Towards the center of the castle was a grand staircase. He paused upon reaching it, wondering if he should go up or down. He reasoned that if Abigail had come here and found the place abandoned, she might have gone up the stairs in search of a place to sleep.

His musings were cut short, however, when he heard a soft sound. He could barely make it out as it drifted up the stairs, echoing off the stones. It sounded like someone... crying?

He raced down the spiraling stairs. She must have fallen and injured herself, that's why she didn't come home. However, he didn't see her as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

The sound grew louder. There were no windows to light his way as he hurried through the corridor after the noise. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark. He almost paused as he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye, half human and half stag, but he reasoned that it must just be an odd statue banished to the basement. Besides, Abigail's sobbing was getting louder and louder and he didn't have time to stop now.

"Abigail?" he hissed as he finally reached the source of the noise. He was at a door held closed by a sturdy chain and padlock. A tiny window at eye height, covered with bars, was his only view into the room beyond. It was clearly a dungeon, and something had locked her in.

"Will?" She sounded surprised, slightly panicked. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he replied, picking up the lock to examine it.

"No, you have to go," she told him, "before he comes back. Please, Will..."

"I'm not leaving without you," he told her. "I just have to get through this door. Where is the key?"

"He has it. Will, please go. He can't find you here," she continued.

"Maybe I can use that statue like a battering ram?" Will suggested.

"Will, please... what statue?" she asked. "There were no statues in this hall."

"Yes there was, it was something like a stag."

"Shit, Will, run!" Abigail pleaded. She sucked in a breath, her eyes darting to something behind him.

Will glanced over his shoulder to see a figure hidden in the shadows. He could barely make out any of the details of them man there. He was tall and Will could barely make out something that seemed to be above his head. However he was cloaked in darkness, blending in almost perfectly with the shadows in the room.Will summoned up his courage to confront Abigail’s captor.

“Let her go,” he demanded.

There was no response.

“She did nothing wrong, you can’t keep her here,” he insisted.

There was a soft huff from the figure.

“Then take me in her place,” Will replied.

“No Will, you can’t-”

But Abigail’s protest where cut off as the creature moved out of the shadows and unlocked the door. He pushed Will into the cell before grabbing Abigail by the arm and pulling her out of the cell. Will was left gawking on the floor, still taking in the creature as the door banged shut. He heard Abigail struggling as the creature dragged her upstairs and out of the castle.

As the noise faded in the distance, Will was struck with the realization that he was truly utterly alone and it terrified him.


End file.
